LISTED shopping mall developer and operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) will launch a P1-billion share buyback program in a move to enhance shareholders’ value under prevailing market condition.

The company is a subsidiary of SM Investments Corp. of the Sy group.

“The buyback program is expected to enhance shareholder value as management believes that the company’s shares are currently undervalued in the market,�?said executive vice president and chief financial officer Jeffrey C. Lim.

Monday, SMPH’s closed down P0.20 to P7.20 per share.

The company’s board approved the buyback program during the annual stockholders’ meeting last Thursday.

“There are no specific terms and conditions on the reckoning/end date of the purchase, timetable and the equivalent number of shares to be purchased,�? said Lim.

At the end of the first quarter, SMPH’s issued and listed shares were 12.435 billion; outstanding shares, 12.416 billion; and treasury shares, 18.857 million.

Other listed companies which bought back shares to support prices were Vista Land, Ayala Corp. and Chemrez Technologies.

Earlier, it said it was spending P1 billion to fund the construction of its fourth mall in China later this year. President Hans T. Sy said the investment was on top of the P6-billion capital spending they are allotting for local expansion this year.

The newest mall will be located in Chongqing, southwest China’s commercial capital.

“The mall will have a gross leasable area of 140,000 sq. meters (sq m) and is up for completion by 2010,�? Sy said.

SMPH has three existing malls in the southern and western parts of China, namely, Xiamen, Jinjiang and Chengdu. The mall in Xiamen was the first to open in December 2001. It has a gross floor area (GFA) of 128,000 sq m, almost similar in size to SM City Sta. Mesa and is 100-percent occupied. SM Jinjiang opened in November 2005 with a GFA of 170,000 sq m and occupancy of 74 percent. Opened last year was SM Chengdu with a GFA of 170,000 sq m and an occupancy rate of 71 percent.

“China is still a relatively new area for us and we will remain conservative in our approach when it comes to investing there,�? Sy said. In the next five years, SMPH’s plan is to build three to four additional malls in China as part of its long-term growth strategy.